As YogaBasics recently discussed, this issue is by no means clear-cut. For a large number of yoga practitioners, yoga is “just fitness,” a value-neutral adjunct to their faith or, for agnostics/atheists, the absence thereof. Yet many in the western yoga community and traditional Hindus argue that yoga cannot be separated from its spiritual roots (this logic is notably inverted when it serves, a la yoga in schools).

Who, then, is right? Is yoga “just” exercise? Does yoga in schools broach the separation between church and state, equivalent to prayer in schools? Are school districts implicitly sanctioning Hindu or spiritualist indoctrination, while conveniently assuming the mantle of secularism?

Diving into yoga history, the answer is muddy. According to yoga scholar Mark Singleton, most of what passes for modern yoga is a cross-cultural fusion of western gymnastics with Indian yoga philosophy and Hinduism, a hypothesis vigorously disputed by traditionalists. And the US has its own history of spiritual gymnastic postural practices that allegedly predate yoga’s importation. These practices, developed and practiced primarily by women, were intended to facilitate heightened states of awareness via a synergy of posture, breath, and relaxation. The gradually increasing popularity of yoga over the course of the past century thus had a fertile precedent often overlooked in our attribution of “yoga” to solely Indian forms (as much philosophical bounty as these traditions have imbued).

In other words, modern yoga is not inextricably linked to Hinduism or yoga philosophy. It is rather co-constructed within the context of multiple cultures, and transformed by each that it comes into contact with.

The wellness program in Encinitas is funded by a $500,000+ grant by the Jois Foundation, an organization devoted to the dissemination of Ashtanga Yoga (developed by the late Patthabi Jois). Yoga classes (which include meditation and breathwork) are complemented by nutrition and life-skills curricula that teach “perseverance and responsibility,” according to the Encinitas Superintendent (all-American values if we’ve ever heard them).

Adds Jois Foundation Director Eugene Ruffin, “They give you character exercises—‘Thou shalt not steal, thou shall be honest, thou shall be respectful to adults.’” This, he notes, “is typical of athletics programs for kids,” and the ideals are neither specific to Hinduisim nor conflict with his Catholic upbringing.

But without having seen the curricula, it seems rooted in yoga’s eight-limbed path—healthy diet, yamas and niyamas (the yogic ten commandments), asana, pranayama, and meditation—reframed for a secular environment. As such, the resistance conservative parents are experiencing may be understandable from the perspective of their faith.

This is Part One of a two-part series. Next up: Are we applying one standard to “modernized” yoga and mindfulness-based curricula in the schools, while applying another to conventional religion?

Tosca Braun, a 200-hour Kripalu Yoga instructor and 500-hour Integrative Yoga Therapist, is a doctoral student in Clinical Health Psychology at the University of Connecticut, where she conducts research on yoga, mindfulness, and health with her mentor, Dr. Crystal Park, and collaborators. Prior to UConn Tosca spent five years as a research intern and project manager with Kripalu's Institute for Extraordinary Living, an organization devoted to the scientific study of yoga-based curricula. She holds bachelor's degrees from Reed College and SUNY Empire State College in history and health psychology, respectively, and has more than 2,000 hours of training in yoga, Ayurveda, and the mind-body connection.

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Ahimsa / Non-Violence

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